Dreaming of Dragons
by Ruffnut49
Summary: Otto Wurm stared at the girl perplexedly . He was a professor in an arts school and as such he has seen some pretty strange and eccentric people but this girl...this girl was completely lost. He exchanged an incredulous look with his colleagues before sighing and turning back to observe the painting. A dragon...magnificent!
1. Chapter 1

' I'm going to fail...'

'_Well of course, if you keep thinking like that!_'

'This was such a stupid idea, I was crazy to even consider coming here!'

Her mind was full of embarrassing scenarios, where she either got laughed at by the students, or kicked out by an enraged eccentric arts professor. _Why would I ever, even for a minute think that I could do this_? _Not only did I waste my time and money coming here, I will also end up being depressed for months when they turn me down._

'_Hello? Lena?' _A voice cut through her thoughts.

'Oh hey uhm...sorry I got a bit lost...' Her hand was starting to ache and she switched the phone to her other ear quickly. 'I'll call you back later,okay?'

'_Okay...please stop being so nervous there is no point in that. You always make such a big deal out of everything!'_

_I do not! _Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

'_Good luck and..._' She ended the call cutting off her best friends voice. Then, as if only realizing what she did, she winced at the phone and mumbled a distracted sorry before stuffing the phone in her pocket. She turned her attention back to what was in front of her. _So this is it. The University of Fine Arts_. The building itself made her feel so tiny and worthless. She walked slowly towards it, still in awe. It looked so proud and beautiful. She gulped. _There is no turning back now. _She sighed. _I wish I could just get over with it. _But it was too early, she still had 45 minutes till the exam. _I better get myself something to eat_. She had been too nervous to eat all morning, her stomach was still churning uncomfortably.

She turned to go but something caught her eye. A large shadow passed over her, too quick and dark to be a cloud. _What the hell? _She squinted towards the sky, putting her hand above her eyes. She was aware or screams ringing in her ears but she was too stunned to move. _God..._Gliding above her was the unmistakable shape of a...

'DRAGOOOOOON!' She had only enough time to raise her hands protectively before the panicking man came running towards her. There was a grunt, more screaming and a sharp pain in her head before everything went black.

Charlie couldn't stop fidgeting in his chair. It didn't seem right to just be sitting there while there was a loose dragon somewhere out there. He needed to do something, at least something that will distract him.

'They have already located him Charlie, it's only a matter of time before they send us to catch him, relax mate.' Jamie's voice floated over from where he was sitting on the sofa, rolling a cigarette lazily.

He didn't want to relax. He stood up and started pacing around his small, drab room. The Romanian Longhorn is a very dangerous species and also hard to catch. It took them days to locate him, and by that time, he was already all the way in Austria. They had luck that he seemed to stick to the hills and mountains and didn't go straight for the first city. Apart from a few herds of sheep that had gone missing, luckily there were no other victims and only a few memory charms were needed to clean up the mess.

'Those incompetent idiots! I still can't imagine how they managed to lose it!' Charlie ran his hand through his fiery hair angrily. All this trouble because of a few irresponsible young punks! If it was up to him they would have lost their jobs right away.

'It wasn't all their fault you know...the chains were old and worn and the charms on them should have been renewed ages ago. And the boy fell asleep so what...'

'So what? He choose to dedicate his life to this, how can you fall asleep next to something as beautiful and magnificent...' Jamie's laugh cut him off.

'You can't seriously expect everyone to be as obsessed with dragons as you are.'

Charlie was about to retort when a familiar crackling in the fireplace cut him off. A moment later the flames turned green and a face appeared in the ashes. Both him and Jamie were already on their feet.

'There is a portkey ready for you, a group of obliviators will accompany you..'

'A whole group!'

'Yes mister Weasley, I am afraid they will have a lot of work too. Last time seen, the dragon was nearing the capital city.'

That was enough to spur them into action. They apparated from Charlie's flat.

If there was anything worse than a loose dragon, it was a dragon in a city as big as Vienna. Charlie looked around the square – it was a mess. People were still running around screaming, the keepers were flying around the dragon, trying to catch it and everywhere flashes of bright light flew as people from the ministry tried to control the muggle crowd. He gripped his broomstick, ready to fly up and help the other keepers when he tripped over something. Looking down he realized it was a girl. Her hair was spread around her pale face and her things were strewn all around her small body. A streak of fear cut through him but he knew he had no time now to check if she was alright. He jumped over her , ignoring the crack when he stepped on her big paper bag and flew up towards the dragon.

The square was now cleared, and with the help of some local wizards, life was going on peacefully in Vienna. Of course there were still some memory charms to be cast, but that was for the people from the ministry to finish up. Their work here was done. The dragon was wrestled down and tied and at the moment it was being transported back to Romania. Charlie sighed and finally let himself relax, wiping his sweaty forehead. _What a day..._

'Charlie!I need some help here' He looked over the now peaceful square to his friend Jamie. He was crouching next to something and after a moment he realized it was that girl. He realized he was already running towards them.

'Is she okay?' He slid down on his knees next to her, and looked up at Jamie.

'I think so...She doesn't seem to be hurt, apart from a nasty bump on the back of her head. Do you think they've already erased her memory? They shouldn't have left her out...'

Charlie shrugged, carefully raising her head with one hand to make sure there was no blood on the pavement. It was when he felt her head move a bit.

'I think she's gaining consciousness.'

She uttered a little moan and her dark eyelashes fluttered against her pale cheeks.

'Hey..are you alright?' Charlie peered down at her worriedly.

A pair of big brown doe eyes stared back at him.

'What' your name?'

'Da..' she croaked out.

'Well that's a weird name...humpf-' Charlie pushed Jamie back and hissed at him to be quiet.

'I mean yeah..I'm okay...'

'Great!' Charlie shot her a wide grin. 'Come on, let me help you up.' He pulled her up by her hand, steadying her when she seemed to wobble on her feet.

'Whoa whoa careful there girlie.' Jamie handed her the bag.

'What happened?' She looked around confusedly.

Jamie and Charlie shot each other a look.

'Do you remember...anything?' Charlie started out carefully.

'I was walking towards the academy, talking to my friend Ivana on the phone...She was helping me calm down before the exam you know...and...well I don't know...it's all blank after that.' She finished off, looking a bit lost.

_So someone has already obliviated her._

'And then you fell.' Charlie finished. 'You must have tripped over something.' He assured her.

She looked down at the pavement suspiciously...'Yeah...I guess..'

'I'm Charlie by the way, and this is Jamie.' Jamie nodded, smiling.

'Im Lena, nice to meet-' she reached out a hand but stopped when her eyes fell onto the watch on Charlie's wrist. 'Oh! Oh my god! I'm late, I'm late!' And she was gone, running towards the university, her coat and scarf flying behind her.

'What an interesting girl.' Jamie coughed out, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a smile. Charlie shot him a dark look. He didn't feel like he should be laughing at the poor girl.

Jamie raised his hands defensively 'I'm just saying! She is pretty tho.'

'She is.'

'Come on, let's grab a drink. Merlin knows I need one after all of this.'

Otto Wurm stared at the girl perplexedly . He was a professor in an arts school and as such he has seen some pretty strange and eccentric people but this girl...this girl was completely lost. First of all, she came 15 minutes too late into the exam. Ignoring his assistant who was trying to explain to her that she can't participate in the exam if she was too late, she sat in the first free place, whacking a nearby girl in the face with her bag. And through all of this she went with a completely oblivious expression. Actually she looked as if she was a bit confused with her surroundings. She stared into her paper bag for a moment. Then she proceeded to rip it apart. People were now turning a scowling at the noise she is making. She turned over a piece of brown paper and a mixture of different colors trickled down onto the desk. She then started painting, using a pair of broken brushes. After a while she threw them away and starting painting with her fingers, sometimes scratching her nails over the canvas. Otto was pretty sure she was on drugs.

They stared at the painting in complete silence.

'What were they supposed to draw ?' one of his colleagues asked.

'Does it matter?' his answer was only silence. Of course it didn't.

'The colors are blended so beautifully.' Another one added.

'She used her fingers.'

'Really! How creative!'

Otto looked towards the girl. She had dumped all of her stuff into the trash can and was now trying to wipe the paint off her hands. All the others have already left the hall.

He walked towards her slowly 'What is your name?'

She seemed not to hear him.

He repeated his question and she looked up at him for the first time, blinking.

'Jelena Stefanovi

.'

'Well, miss Stefanovich, I am very happy to inform you that you have been accepted!' He finished off enthusiastically.

'Thank you. I am sorry for the mess.' she answered back in shaky German and with that she left the hall.

Otto exchanged an incredulous look with his colleagues before sighing and turning back to observe the painting. _A dragon...magnificent!_


	2. Chapter 2

She left the University in a daze. It was so hard to keep track of her thoughts. The most random things would pop up in her mind and disrupt any train of thought she had managed to conduct so far. And then there was that gaping hole that was this morning. She couldn't make sense out of what happened, no matter how much she tried to remember. The fact that her head was throbbing wasn't helping much either.

Lena pulled out her gray brick-like phone from her pocket. It was a present from her father, who always liked to be up to date with technology and never understood how she could be so uninterested in it. It was just a way too costly toy to her, one she gladly gave to her friends to play with. But this time she was glad she had it with her. She dialed Ivana's number with a shaky hand and started walking aimlessly.

'Yes?'

'It's me...'

She looked around before deciding to go down the left street.

'Lena! What happened? How was it? I was about to call-'

'I passed.'

'You what? Seriously?!'

'You sound way too surprised.'

'Well of course I said you can do it, it doesn't necessarily mean I expected you to pass-'

'Well that's just great!'

A car honked and she jumped back, startled. The driver yelled something in German.

'Hey come on relax...just tell me how you did it.'

'I have no idea...'

'What do you mean?'

She walked briskly over the street towards the bakery, staring at the display. _Oh sweet food of gods_. Never has a croissant looked more delicious. Her stomach rumbled.

'I _mean_, I have no idea...you know when you're really sleepy and you go on with some routine, not really noticing that you're doing it-'

'What?'

'And you stare at the toothbrush not really sure if you just brushed your teeth or if you were about to-'

'What?'

She leaned on the door, pushing it open. Almost instantly, the smell of freshly baked pastries washed over her, making her mouth water.

'Oh yeah and I met this boy, he helped me up from the ground, you should've seen his hair! I'm pretty sure he dyed it-'

'Are you on drugs?'

The man behind the counter said something to her with a smile and she smiled back and pointed at the cheese-covered croissant.

'I don't know...maybe-' Ivana's laughter cut her off.

'You're crazy I swear! Oh I love you!'

Lena giggled uncertainly. 'Yeah...I mean no, I'm not on drugs...I hit my head this morning...I think I fell. Well that's what the guy said at least...I'm not sure what exactly happened, I just know I really need a drink now.'

He packed the croissant into a little paper bag. 'Dreizehn Schilling, bitte.'

She pulled out some crumpled money from her pocket and put it on the counter. He picked out some coins and handed her the bag, smiling. She thanked him and pushed the rest of the money back into her pocket, turning to leave.

'As always. Well have a drink or two for me too and don't forget to call me when you get back!'

'I won't, take care.'

'You too!'

She sighed, smiling. It all felt like a dream. _I passed! _It seemed like she was just beginning to realize it. She skipped down the street. _I passed I passed I passed...Oh finally_! She skidded to a halt in front of a pub. Her stomach grumbled just as she was about to open the door and she scowled down at it. _Wait a minute!_

Charlie glared at him. There he was, drinking and talking to Jamie as if he didn't have a care in this world. As if nothing that happened today was his fault.

'Isn't that right Charlie?' Jamie's voice brought him out of his angry thoughts.

'What?'

'Jamie was just saying-' Adam started.

'Didn't I tell you not to talk to me?' he ignored Adam's hurt face.

'Give the boy a break man, I'm sure he is aware he made a mistake-'

'Yes! Yes I am! And I swear on my family name I will _never ever _again-'

'Oh shut up...' Charlie turned back to his drink, staring bitterly at it. 'I don't like these muggle drinks.'

'Me neither. If only I had a nice cold bottle of firewhiskey now...' Jamie's voice trailed off. He nudged Charlie 'Hey look who's here.'

Charlie followed his gaze.

There she was. For the third time. Only this time she was fully conscious. She walked over to the bar, completely unaware that she was being watched, sat on the stool and ordered something. She pulled up a little white paper bag and took a large bite out of whatever was in there. Charlie turned back towards Jamie.

'What was her name? Something short...Anna?' He pondered for a moment. _Amy...Ema?_

'Lena!' Jamie whistled and waved at the girl cheerfully.

She turned, surprised. Then she smiled shyly, brushing crumbles away from her chin and gave a small wave. Charlie felt himself smiling at the sight of her cheeks stuffed with pastries.

'How is your head? Come over and have a drink with us!'

She stuffed the rest of the croissant into her mouth, picked up her coat and walked over to them. Her foot slipped a bit while she was trying to sit on the bar stool and Charlie gave her his hand, helping her. She thanked him with a smile and Charlie could see the bright red tips of her ears when she put her hair behind her ears.

'What are you drinking?' Jamie asked, grabbing his glass from the counter.

'Oh I'm uhh...' She glanced back to where she was sitting before. The man behind the bar coughed and she turned back, laughing awkwardly. She took the glass from him and paid him.' You probably haven't heard of it...' she answered, holding the glass up. Charlie was about to ask about the clear liquid, when Adam's head shot out seemingly out of nowhere and blocked his view. He saw him sniff the contents of the glass with his big hooked nose and then he said something that sounded like gibberish to him. _Does he have to ruin everything? _Charlie was about to push him away angrily when he heard Lena answer back. They were talking in their own language, then they laughed loudly and hugged, patting each other on the back. He and Jamie exchanged confused looks. Adam turned to them, his arm on Lena's shoulder as if he was introducing an old friend.

'Lena is from Serbia!' Charlie and Jamie stared blankly at him.

'And I'm Macedonian. so I obviously speak Serbian.' he smiled at them enthusiastically.

'_Obviously._'Charlie's eye twitched nervously. He didn't like seeing his gangly arm on her shoulders.

'He noticed that I was drinking rakija...it's a national drink.' She explained.

'You guys should try it!' Adam turned and ordered another 4 glasses.

She pulled at the collar of her shirt. _Whoa it's getting so hot in here_. _Or maybe I should just slow down with the drinks. _She bit her lip guiltily. They had moved to a table and it had quite a few empty glasses on it already. She took a sip of water trying to wash out the taste of rakija. She didn't really like the taste of it, and she wasn't sure why she ordered it in the first place. Maybe it was because it reminded her of her grandpa. She made sure to visit her grandparents as soon as possible. _Actually I might just skip Belgrade and go straight to the countryside..._

'Good to see you finally got some color in your pale face' Charlie teased her. She slapped his shoulder, but she couldn't keep the smile on her face from growing. She could feel the alcohol warming her cheeks and she knew she must be all red in the face by now. Or maybe it was because of someone sitting so close next to her...She felt goosebumps when his arm brushed hers. _And what an arm._..She couldn't help glancing back at the muscles rippling under tanned skin. I wonder where he got that burn tho...it looks nasty. She sat back with a happy sigh. They were all drinking, talking and laughing loudly and there was that happy relaxing haze that only alcohol could create. She felt like she could sit here with these people for hours.

'Do you guys work, or go to college?'

They exchanged nervous looks. _What was that...? _

'Yeah we work with..animals-'

'We're veterinarians!' Adam finished with a smile.

'All three of you?' She raised an eyebrow. _Well they didn't have to lie..._

'And what about you?' Jamie jumped in.

'Oh I'm just finishing my last year at high school. Today I went to the University of Fine Arts to take the exam-'

'So that's where you ran off! I thought you were just embarrassed' Charlie teased her.

'Yeah I was late-'

'We heard that.' She glared at Jamie.

'As I was saying...I was a bit late but they still let me in...Actually I think someone tried to stop me but I ignored them..I was in a bit of a daze, from the fall you know.' they nodded and looked at her head sympathetically. 'Anyways, I don't know how I did it but I passed!' She gave a joyous laugh. 'I'm so happy! I still can't believe it!' They congratulated her and she blushed, still smiling.

'So yeah...now I just have to break it to my dad...I'm guessing he won't be happy with my choice...'

'What matters is that you will be doing something you love, don't worry about what your parents or anybody else thinks about it.' Jamie smiled at her reassuringly and she smiled back. It was something she heard quite a few times from her friends lately but it still made her feel better. She picked up her glass to finish off her drink._ I wish Ivana was here, she would love these guys. _They were all loud jokes and teasing, just like her, while Lena was more on the shy side.

'Hey Jelena I have to ask you something.' She looked at Adam. It took her a moment to realize he wasn't speaking English.

'Yes?'

'Can I have your phone number?'

She cringed. _He's a nice guy and all..._

'My friend Charlie likes you.'

She felt her stomach turn. Almost instantly pictures of cute little red-headed children flew through her mind. _You drunken idiot_! She gave herself a mental slap.

'Yeah uhm sure...' She felt herself blushing as she glanced at Charlie, who was deep in conversation with Jamie. She took a little sketchbook out of her coat's big pocket, ripped a piece of paper out and scribbled down her number quickly. She was hoping Charlie wasn't looking at her because she might as well die of embarrassment. She was about to hand it to Adam and he snatched it from her hand, stuffing it in his pocket and gave her a wide smile. She smiled back uncertainly. She was putting the sketchbook back when something slid out of her pocket. She was about to push the little piece of paper back when she noticed what it is. Her train ticket. Her heart stopped for a moment when she realized that she has completely forgotten about the time. She turned the coat over and stuck her hand into the other pocket.

'Is everything alright-'

'I'm late!' she stared at the phone in horror. She had less than 15 minutes to get to the train station.

'Here we go again..' Jamie mumbled watching her grabbing her stuff hurriedly and throwing some money on the table.

'I'm so sorry I have to go! I'm glad we met, bye!' she rushed out of the door and the cold air hit her like a slap. She could hear Charlie calling out for her to wait and it took all of her self-control not to turn back. She ran as fast as she could.


End file.
